Page 39 of Ruthless Ambition
He glanced at me and smiled. “I didn’t mind.” He reached out and caught my fingers again. “Do you?”
Heat flooded my cheeks, but looking down at the sidewalk, I shook my head. “Where are we walking to?” I asked quietly.
“I have no idea,” he admitted with a laugh, “but it’s a nice night, and I have a pretty girl beside me; I was just going to wing it.”
“Hmm, sounds chancy,” I teased him. “I mean, this girl, how well do you even know her?”
“You’re right,” he said with another laugh. Stepping in front of me, he looked down at me. “What’s your name, pretty girl?”
I couldn’t stop my smile. “Angel.”
I saw his small smile. “Suits you,” he said softly.
“That a line?” I teased, feeling flustered.
“No.” His voice was soft as he looked down at me, and his gaze stayed on my lips before he pushed my hair back and frowned. “I bruised you,” he said as he moved closer to inspect my shoulder.
“It’s fine, I can’t even feel it,” I told him as his fingers traced lightly over my skin. “Hey, you never told me your name.”
Dark eyes flicked back to mine, and his head tilted slightly. “Did I not? Onyx.” My delighted peal of laughter made him grin. “What is it?”
“Onyx?” I said as I looked away with a smile. “Dark.” I pointed at him and then at myself. “Light?”
He smirked, and my tummy fluttered as he looked me over appreciatively. “I don’t know, I think you may have a dark side,” he said as he stepped back and took my hand again. “Come on, I’ll walk you home.”
We walked back to my dorm with an easy silence between us, and I found myself sneaking glances as we walked. Was it normal for me to walk hand in hand with a stranger? Not really, but I felt like I already knew him. I feltcomfortablewith him.
When we were in front of my building, I tugged on his hand to stop him. “This is me,” I said as I fought off the disappointment that we were already here.
“Okay,” Onyx smiled at me and looked around. The campus was quiet, which was unusual but not unheard of for a Saturday night. “Angel?”
“Yes?”
“I really want to kiss you goodnight,” he said to me, his voice low and husky.
“Oh.” I really wanted him to kiss me, too, but I had literally just met him.
Onyx stepped back, his vulnerability showing. “I’m sorry, that was stupid. You don’t know me, I mean, I could be a serial killer or worse—”
Stepping forward, I stretched up and silenced him with a kiss. I only meant to peck him, but as soon as our mouths met, my feet flattened, and Onyx grabbed me around the waist tosteady me. Our lips broke apart, and he looked down at me as I gaped up at him.
“Let me try,” he whispered against my lips, and he took over. As our mouths moved over each other, my arms snaked around his neck, and my hands tangled into his hair. We went from zero to sixty in a nanosecond, and I couldn’t believe this was me kissing the hot stranger on the path outside my dorm.
Onyx’s hand trailed down my spine, and I arched into him, and when his lips skimmed my jawline, the soft mewl of protest I let out caused him to smile as he kissed me again.
“Jesus, get a room if you’re that horny,” someone catcalled, and reluctantly, I stepped back.
“Um, wow.” Pushing my hair behind my ears, I looked anywhere but at him. “I think I got, um, carried away.”
“Me too,” he said to me as he moved closer, and his hand caressed my arm. “I better go.”
“Or you could come in?”
I saw his eyes widen in surprise, and I am sure my own surprise was mirrored on my face. “Angel?”
“I’m not saying for anything like that, maybe just a drink? Or . . .”Kill me now. Please make me stop talking.
“Coffee?” he asked me, and I saw the slight tilt of his mouth as he watched me.
“Or water, because you know, it’s late, and coffee would keep you up all night, and you don’t want to be up all night, unless of course you want to be awake all night, but then why would you be awake all night?” Onyx raised an eyebrow, and I grimaced as I squeezed my eyes shut. “Please don’t let me talk anymore,” I pleaded. “I’m not used to this,” I added with a nervous laugh. “Oh boy.”
A light brush against my lips opened my eyes, and I stopped from swaying into his arms as he placed a finger under my chin and tilted my head up to look at him. “A water would be great.”
“Yeah?” I whispered.
“Yeah.” His smile spread slowly, and it was beautiful, like him.
Unable to hide my smile, I stepped back from him again. “Okay, well, it’s um, this way.”
And that was how the Devil got into my bed. I invited him in.
